The publisher of the Irish Sunand News of the Worldnewspapers has secured a temporary High Court order restraining two former members of their advertising department and others from destroying records relating to the placing of advertisements in the newspapers.
Paul Gardiner SC, for News International Ltd, said the injunction application followed an inquiry into the placement of advertisements in the newspapers. The publisher, the court heard, had made some inquiries after noting a drop in advertising revenue.
Mr Justice Thomas Smyth yesterday granted News International Newspapers Ltd and News International Advertisements Ltd an interim injunction, returnable to next week, against three individuals - David Dwyer, Seán McCrave and David Dwyer snr - and two companies, DM Media Services Ltd and Tower Hatch Ltd.
The order restrains the defendants from disposing, damaging or destroying documents, including computer records, in relation to the allocation, selling and marketing of advertising space in the News of the World or the Irish Sun. It also prevents the defendants from collecting debts from advertising placed on their behalf with the newspapers.
In seeking the order, Mr Gardiner said the proceedings arose from an inquiry into the placing of advertisements in the Irish Sunand News of the World.
When the papers were being put together, the Irish editions removed adverts for the British market and replaced them with Irish adverts, he said. If all the available space was not sold, the practice was to put in fillers, usually given without charge to customers who placed a lot of advertising with the newspapers.
One advertiser, Opera Telecom, who had got many filler advertisements, had paid more than £55,000 for advertising in 2005 in the two papers, counsel said. That figure had dropped to £10,000 in 2006. When contacted by News International, the company said it had entered into a revenue-share agreement with Mr Dwyer.
It was also discovered that Tower Hatch Ltd and DM Media Ltd, of which the other defendants were directors, had been collecting debts in connection with advertisements that were placed with the newspapers.
Mr Gardiner said Mr Dwyer had worked in the advertising section of the paper but had resigned earlier this month. His father, Mr Dwyer snr, is a director of Tower Hatch.
Mr McCrave was also employed in News International's advertising department, but left in August, he added.
Mr Gardiner said that News International was alleging that Mr Dwyer and Mr McCrave were in breach of contract, while Mr Dwyer snr was a co-conspirator.